It always hurts, being the wrong side of history. That's what denial is for.

Venezuela’s mad socialist experiment is destroying a nationAllister Heathby Allister HeathMarch 11, 2014, 2:15am 590 454 9IF you want to see how to destroy an economy and a society, look no further than Venezuela. One year after the death of Hugo Chavez, its disastrous communist president, the country is on the verge of total collapse under his equally appalling successor Nicolas Maduro.

Food is running out, as are other essentials, even though the country claims the world’s largest oil reserves. There are shortages of toilet paper and soap, empty shelves and massive crowds queuing for hours in front of supermarkets. Patients are sometimes having to buy their own medicines; doctors are warning that 95 per cent of hospitals have only five per cent of the supplies they need. The central bank’s scarcity index has reached a record of 28 per cent, which means that more than one in four basic goods are out of stock at any time; and the situation has worsened considerably since the figures were last compiled.

The reason? A brain-dead rejection of basic economics, and a hardline, anti-market approach of the worst possible kind. There are maximum prices, other prices controls, profit controls, capital controls, nationalisations, expropriations and every other statist, atavistic policy you can think of. An extreme left wing government has waged war on capitalism and won; and as ever, ordinary people are paying the price.

There are constant clashes with the police. At least 20 protesters have been killed. The media is being censored. The country is now one of the most dangerous places in the world. Independent observers estimate that there were close to 25,000 murders in 2013, five times the amount seen in 1998, when the current regime took over and really started to wreck the country. There are 30m Venezuelans, less than half the number of Brits; to put the figures in context, the police recorded 532 homicides in the UK in the year to June 2013.

The government claims that oil production is 3m barrels per day; the real figure is closer to 2.3m and yet the country is still having to import petrol. Capital Economics estimates that Venezuela’s overall exports are 11 per cent lower than the government claims, and that cash foreign reserves are virtually zero, against a supposed stockpile of $20bn, including gold. The official exchange rate is 6.3 bolivars per dollar, which is a bad joke; the real market rate is around 80 bolivars per greenback. With hard currency running out, and the country having to fork out $10bn to service its national debt this year, the regime will soon have to choose between buying food or defaulting.

In the meantime, the money printing presses are in overdrive. The Johns Hopkins–Cato Institute Troubled Currencies Project estimates that Venezuela’s implied annual inflation rate has reached 302 per cent; actually recorded inflation was already an eye-watering 56 per cent last year. The middle classes and anybody on a fixed income, or who isn’t protected against inflation, is being wiped out.

This is a hugely important story and yet one which has been covered insufficiently prominently in the UK, partly because we are understandably more concerned with what is happening closer to home in Ukraine. Yet the political blunders and the economic illiteracy at play in Venezuela have universal applicability, and are therefore just as relevant to us than Putin’s power grab.

The lesson from all of that is clear. Socialism doesn’t work. Price controls don’t work. Stealing people’s property doesn’t work. Chasing away foreigners doesn’t work. Destroying the supply-side of an economy doesn’t work. Supply, unsurprisingly, has collapsed, as has investment, and that means fewer goods in the shops as well as reduced incomes. Companies aren’t allowed to increase prices, despite rampant inflation, so they are not selling at all. It is a spectacularly horrible case of what FA Hayek called the Road to Serfdom. The world must pay more attention to Venezuela’s plight.

hahahahaha you fucking psycho, I got the topic of your thread *and* your signature, by name, when I barely even post here anymore? What, since you never leave your hole, and you've pretty much destroyed the BFC, your last pathetic screams of loneliness and anger are at moi? Pop another Xanax with a rye chaser, and pretend like I give a shit.

Actually, here's the world's tiniest violin playing a song called, "I don't give a fuck about anything you say, think, post, or do, you sad little internet drama queen." Enjoy.

"4 cylinder Camaro=communism" El Presidente

"You can smoke salmon but it's not quite the same as smoking heroin." nanuq

friendlyskies wrote:hahahahaha you fucking psycho, I got the topic of your thread *and* your signature, by name, when I barely even post here anymore? What, since you never leave your hole, and you've pretty much destroyed the BFC, your last pathetic screams of loneliness and anger are at moi? Pop another Xanax with a rye chaser, and pretend like I give a shit.

Actually, here's the world's tiniest violin playing a song called, "I don't give a fuck about anything you say, think, post, or do, you sad little internet drama queen." Enjoy.

That was the most epic not giving a shit evah.

ps. I don't even know what xanax, or rye, is. I assume it is chemical props most commonly used by North American housewives to help them get through the day, sitting on the washing machine helps too I'm told.

(Reuters) - A Chilean woman was shot dead while clearing a barricade put up by anti-government protesters, the first foreign fatality during a month of civil unrest in Venezuela, authorities said on Monday.

The deaths of Gisela Rubilar, 47, who was studying in the western Venezuelan city of Merida, and of a protester shot in the border state of Tachira, brought to at least 22 the number of fatalities in five weeks of unrest.

"She was ambushed by extreme right-wing groups ... She was vilely murdered with a shot in the eye," Alexis Ramirez, the governor of Merida state, told reporters, blaming the killing of Rubilar on unidentified demonstrators in the Andean city.

Students and militant opponents of President Nicolas Maduro have been maintaining street barricades in various cities since last month, demanding the president's resignation and solutions to problems of rampant crime and economic shortages.

The barriers have become frequent flashpoints for violence between protesters, police and government supporters.

People from both sides of the political divide, as well as members of the security forces, have been among the victims of the country's worst unrest in a decade.

Daniel Ceballos, mayor of San Cristobal in Tachira state, said on Twitter that a student, Daniel Tinoco, was shot dead there late on Monday as protesters and government supporters clashed. San Cristobal has been hardest hit by the turmoil.

In Merida, the authorities said Rubilar was a mother of four and a member of the ruling Socialist Party. A classmate told Reuters she was studying higher education, had lived in Merida for six years and worked as an artisan.

Maduro said on state television that investigations were advancing and that her killers had been identified.

"We're on their trail," he said. "Rest assured, Chile and Latin America, we are going to capture the assassins of this compatriot and they will pay for this horrendous crime."

OVERTHROW UNLIKELY

Chilean President Sebastian Pinera said his government had asked Venezuela to provide them with all the information about the circumstances and cause of Rubilar's death.

Although street protests helped briefly topple Venezuela's late socialist leader Hugo Chavez in a botched 2002 coup, there seems little chance the current unrest could lead to a Ukraine-style overthrow of his successor, Maduro.

The military, which played a crucial role in 2002, appears firmly behind Maduro. Opposition leaders are also split between militants who back the street action and moderates who believe that tactic risks violence and lacks widespread support.

The ongoing, daily protests are a mix of peaceful demonstrations and violent exchanges between security forces and hooded protesters hurling rocks and Molotov cocktails.

Pro- and anti-government medical personnel held rival rallies in the capital on Monday.

Earlier in the day, the army said it raided a parking garage under Caracas' Altamira Square - a stronghold of opposition protests - and found a store of water, food, medicine, helmets and other equipment destined to keep the demonstrations going. Eleven people were arrested, the authorities said.

An increasingly confident-looking Maduro told supporters that the protesters had been defeated.

"We have faced a coup and neutralized it," he said.

But students are vowing to stay on the street indefinitely in what could be a protracted period of instability for Venezuela's 29 million people.

More than 1,300 have been arrested during the unrest, with 92 still behind bars, according to the government. More than 300 people have been injured during the unrest.

I'll add these rules to my list of things not to doRule 1 - don't fuck with people's barricades when a socialist government is using force against its people. Rule 2 - Especially when you're a socialistRule 3 - Especially when you're foreign

Meanwhile the fucktard circus in Hollywood goes on.

"Venezuela and hollywood : five matches made in socialist heaven" by Brad SlagerThrongs are taking to the streets in Venezuela demanding reforms while being met by violent government soldiers leading to civilian deaths. This is due to a populace tiring of oppression and economic strife, which started under President Hugo Chavez, a figured admired by some celebrities.

When Chavez passed away last year, his regime continued as his longtime aide Nicolas Maduro “ran” for office and was elected by a very narrow margin, extending the misery of citizens. The Chavez/Maduro legacy has exhibited most of the failings of socialism on an impressive scale.

Chavez rose as a populist figure, demonizing the elites and gaining power on a wave of class warfare. He promptly began taking over many industries and placed them under state control. The result has been ongoing unemployment, lowered wealth and even regular food shortages.

And for some reason numerous Hollywood celebrities not only voiced approval of Chavez but lauded the man affectionately. This can only be a reflection of leftist tendencies and a hope that their idea of a socialist system was becoming a reality. Sadly these stars, five of which are listed below, have to delude themselves that Venezuela is a thriving society. Little surprise people who create fantasies for a living avoid the stark realities of their ideology failing on the global stage.

Sean Penn

Few can match Penn for sheer affection towards Chavez. He was a frequent visitor of the autocrat, and has said he was “blessed” to know him so well, calling him, “one of the most important forces we’ve had on this planet.” When Chavez passed away Penn attended the funeral in person. While he eulogized the man who said President Obama had the same stench as President George W. Bush--describing him as a “clown,” and an “embarrassment” while turning the country into a disaster--Penn laughably declared, “The people of the United States lost a friend it never knew it had.”

Oliver Stone

Perhaps challenging Penn for top despotic affection is this firebrand director. Stone not only was a frequent visitor and raving supporter of Hugo, he went so far to make a fawning documentary on the leader. After trotting out South of the Border at a few high-profile film festivals, the movie was released domestically and became roundly ignored. Maybe there is no better way to show how out of touch Stone was than to look at the performance of his agitprop in Venezuela, where he believed Chavez was adored. After being given saturation promotional support and boosted in state-run theaters his love letter to the leader could not even earn over $20,000 after two weeks in theaters there. By contrast, a Michael Jackson documentary drew a few million dollars in Venezualen box office.

Stone has also visited Maduro, and recently at a conference on liberty he actually defended the government’s actions against the protesters, calling the latter group "sore losers" and rationalizing the violence on display. It seems nothing will shake his strident view that all is well with the oppressive leadership.

Moore is another film maker who has affection for Venezuela’s liberty-crushing statism. He met Chavez and he mourned the leader’s passing publicly. While Moore’s support for openly leftist, anti-capitalist policies comes as zero surprise what never is accounted for is the blindspot these men have regarding despotic actions towards those in their field. Considering every perceived slight here in the U.S. in regards to rights is cause for alarmism from Moore, how then does he excuse Chavez and Maduro resorting to something that normally outrages all of Hollywood -- censorship?

Chavez and Maduro hid behind a veil of upright elections because their criminal activity was in the field of campaign abuses. Radio stations were closed down and television stations taken off the air for commentary critical of the leaders or in support of their opponents. How can film makers not be affected by this affront to free expression?

Moore has shown a similar avoidance of this hard truth with the case of Timothy Tracy, another American documentary filmmaker. Tracy was jailed last year while making a film about the contentious elections in Venezuela. Don’t let the truths get in the way of selling a political system you adore, right Mike?

Danny Glover

Glover is another performer with a long-standing alliance with the oppressive leaders of Venezuela. A frequent visitor of Chavez, the actor had reasons beyond socialist favoritism to snuggle up with the leader. Chavez would use state money to fund a pet film project about a Haitian revolutionary Glover wanted to make, a move that angered domestic film makers. Glover has labeled Chavez “a social-champion of democracy”, apparently ignorant of--or more likely ignoring--the numerous threats to the democratic process enacted by Chavez.

You cannot in good conscience tout somebody as democratic who had moved to rewrite the country’s constitution to appoint himself President For Life.

Regarding the recent uprising Glover is clearly in Maduro’s corner. He has criticized any foreign influence on the uprising (not bothered by the Cuban military arriving to assist the violent government however) and he calls for support of, “the Constitutional democratic measures by which they manage the self-determination.”

A curious choice of words, considering the government once shut down a television station for announced threats to the constitution; the threat was the station was reading the constitution on the air, to show how the regime was in violation of said document.

Kevin Spacey

Back in 2007 the star of House of Cards star was in Caracas and had a private meeting with Chavez. It was a closed-door affair, but the official government report detailed the actor and leader spoke at length on the country’s theatrical industry and political matters. Spacey was said to even offer his help in brokering a deal for captives being held in Colombia. (Makes sense--he did appear in The Negotiator, after all.)

It was not all light subjects. Part of their talks also revolved around the Chavez proposal to rewrite the national constitution. Spacey probably will not want to get too cozy with Maduro, since the President has now begun targeting cable television dramas. Then again, considering all on this list compromise their values to support an oppressive government Spacey may be back in Caracas very soon.

...and if it was your friend? And I'm sure you have been in that position in your line of work - I would say that I'm sorry you have lost someone you care about. Sometimes the headlines hit close to home. Not mine, this time, or yours.... :-(

Joan of Arc went to battle with nothingbut the voices in her headand a well-sharpened sword ~ Charlotte

And the BFC should care about a long ago BANNED POSTER and her supposedly dead friend why? Tell me again? Why should I or anyone else here care about Penta, when she has been banned by the board's owner, has threatened him and his forum administrator with legal action? Why? Go on, WHY?

The real question should be, why do YOU care to mention it, and bring it up here, where she is persona non grata? Well? Why?

But yet, it's me and nowonmai who 'disrespect' RYP? By pulling his pisser now and again, does he seem affected? Doesn't look like it, but I bet he doesn't care much for your dear friend. Funny old thing that, no?

Cheers

Patriots always talk of dying for their country, and never of killing for their country - Bertrand Russell

Movie-making is a dictatorship. Everyone in the film unit, even if they answer to a crew head, they answer directly to the director. It's one of the last dictatorial positions left in the world. - Francis Ford Coppola

Penn hasn't had a memorable role since Spicoli. Moore couldn't negotiate a union contract to save his life. Spacey? I just know of him from the butt of jokes. Stone made some interesting fantasy pieces. I'm too old for this shit.

friendlyskies wrote:hahahahaha you fucking psycho, I got the topic of your thread *and* your signature, by name, when I barely even post here anymore? What, since you never leave your hole, and you've pretty much destroyed the BFC, your last pathetic screams of loneliness and anger are at moi? Pop another Xanax with a rye chaser, and pretend like I give a shit.

Actually, here's the world's tiniest violin playing a song called, "I don't give a fuck about anything you say, think, post, or do, you sad little internet drama queen." Enjoy.

That was the most epic not giving a shit evah.

ps. I don't even know what xanax, or rye, is. I assume it is chemical props most commonly used by North American housewives to help them get through the day, sitting on the washing machine helps too I'm told.

Is that Lebron James from Akron, Ohio? Looks like him. He sure broke the hearts and pissed off many Clevelanders when he ungraciously dumped the Cleveland Cavaliers to go play basketball for Miami Heat. Rumor is he's coming back to Cleveland though, which would be a ballsy move and a sexy thing for this American city, this city of sports teams that never win and ennui & decay that show no signs of abating.

As for rye, you're being coy, Nowonmai. I can't believe that you know what that is. Take my word, bourbon is better. As for Xanax, it's a mild anti-anxiety pill. Goes down well with a splash of bourbon over 3 ice cubes with a splash of ginger ale added. As for sitting on washing machines, nothing happens I assure you.

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